(source: LMDC)
(source: LMDC)
Jacob Mower (source: Tammy Schindler)LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - A Clarksville man is dead after police say his friend drove drunk, crashed his car then he and a passenger left 33 year-old Jacob Mower. Better known as Shea, his friends who were by his side when he died at the hospital four days after the wreck are hoping the few who didn't know him will learn from what he gave.
The smile he put on his friend's faces will be Shea Mower's legacy. Originally from Utah - the 33 year-old moved to Kentuckiana when he was a teen. He had no family here, so everyone he met became his brother or sister.
"He's the first friend I ever had introduce me to his friends as his brother and that's the type of friend he was," explains friend Josh Schindler. Shea was known to brag about them all. "He was proud of every one of his friends accomplishments probably more so than what they really was," adds Schindler.
His friends had plenty to brag about too. Shea was working on his masters, starting a roofing business and even spent time working on campaigns for politicians like Baron Hill. All his hard work came to a stand still early Saturday morning. Shea was out with his friends John Koerner and Kristy Harper when police say Koerner was drunk and crashed his car along Grinstead Drive, then the two left the scene, leaving Shea.
The news made it's way back to Josh Schindler, "It was Saturday. We were watching the U of L game and I got a phone call saying he was in critical condition." He immediately went to the hospital to make sure the friend he called a brother was okay. So did everyone else. "The hospital was like, 'Wow. How many friends does this guy have?' They were just filtering in one after another."
By Wednesday, Shea's injuries became too much and he passed away. While those friends who left him at the wreck scene sit behind bars charged with that crime, those he was closest with are hoping others learn from their loss. "You need to tell your friends you care about them. Some of the stuff we're sharing now certainly would have been nice to share openly with him than after the fact," says Schindler.
They just hope Shea knew that before he left them.
The Commonwealth's Attorneys office says they are still going through the evidence to see if the charges against Koerner and Harper should be upgraded since to murder.
A Jacob "Shea" Mower Scholarship fund will be set up and donation can be made at any PNC Branch.
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